Ned Brown is a long-time contributor for Rotoworld Golf. He’s had documented success in Yahoo!’s game for years. Even if you’re confident in your selections for that game, give his insight a read. Ned also provides us with his GolfChannel.com Fantasy Challenge selections as well!

The Yahoo! game is off this week but Ned’s picks will return next week at The Honda Classic. Here are his splits:

"Pure Spin"

Northern Trust: 178 points

Season: 1,214 points

Overall Rank: 388

Coming TUESDAY

And the analysis doesn't end here. Rotoworld's Rob Bolton and I will be co-hosting a one-hour live chat TUESDAY at NOON ET. PLEASE NOTE THE DAY CHANGE for THIS WEEK ONLY! We will be breaking down the field at the WGC-Accenture Match Play and answering your questions. Simply return to the golf home page to join in on the chatter.

Notes: The top 64 players according to the OWGR after the conclusion of play at the NTO will be seeded 1-16 in four brackets. Players will play match play and contrary to the television talking heads, no matches will ever be “dormie” because there must be a winner to advance to the second round. If the match is all square after 18 holes, the competitors will play sudden death starting at one tee and moving forward until there is a winner. Gamers, this event starts bright and early on WEDNESDAY morning so make sure to set your line-ups, drafts and weekly games accordingly.

History Lessons

Even though WGC-Accenture Match Play began in 1999, the Ritz-Carlton Course at Dove Mountain has only been the host since 2009 so please remember this when looking at course form.

Of the top 64 players in the world, only No. 4 Brandt Snedeker (rib injury), No. 9 Phil Mickelson (vacation) are not in the field this week. They were replaced by Shane Lowry and Fredrik Jacobson. If any player WD’s before their tee time on Wednesday, they will be replaced REGARDLESS of seed by the first alternate.

Of Course

In the high Sonoran desert of Arizona sits the Ritz-Carlton Golf Course at Dove Mountain. Designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened for play in 2009, the course has nice and wide fairways plus large, undulating Bentgrass greens. There are four par-fives and a drivable par-four as well but don’t let that distort your view that only long hitters do well here. Ask the last three winners (Poulter, Donald and Mahan) where they rank in driving distance!

Match play is quite different from stroke play in many facets. One, you are playing against your opponent AND the course. One bad hole in stroke play can ruin a great round; one bad hole in match play and you can only lose ONE hole. Two, the best player doesn’t always win. You can shoot five under par on your card and LOSE one down. Conversely, you can be even par and playing poorly and still find a win to beat your opponent even though the course has beaten you!

In match play, I’m looking for guys who are GIR specialists or short-game masters. Players can put the pressure on their opponents by hitting green after green or by getting up and down from everywhere, forcing their opponents to hole putts. The closely mown areas around the greens will test the player’s short game with the wedge and the utility club. The wide fairways here are not an advantage to accurate drivers so don’t be dissuaded by those wild off the tee. The greens will be running at 11 on the Stimpmeter so plenty of guys will be aggressive as they try and hole putts. You’ll hear plenty of “pick it up, that’s good” this week as well.

Very few will argue that this is the most difficult tournament of the season to forecast and project. Match play involves great golf AND great luck throughout the week. Making five straight pars can win you a match or see you get blown out of a match and that’s what makes this event fascinating.

When filling out your bracket, don’t forget that there are upsets every year in this event. All four No. 1 seeds have NEVER played in the semi-finals so think outside the box if you want to compete this week. I’d take a look at guys who make plenty of birdies if you are torn between two players. I would also look at Jeff Sagarin’s ratings if you need to break a tie. Also, I haven’t mentioned anything about the Ryder Cup or President’s Cup singles records because, in my mind, those circumstances don’t translate to an individual event like this. Apples and kumquats that.

Glass Says: I’m going with the hottest hand in this bracket, Charl Schwartzel. The top seed in this event never wins unless his last name is Woods so I’m going with a mild upset in this bracket. Dustin Johnson has lost three of his last four opening round matches and Graeme McDowell has been lightly raced in 2013 so be careful. Watch for Padraig Harrington to knock out McIlroy to face Schwartzel in the bracket final.

Glass Says: An absolute train wreck waiting to happen in this bracket as there are plenty of guys who will cause problems. Robert Garrigus loves the desert and I’m going with him to come out of the top portion. Matt Kuchar loves some match play in Marana and has been this close to putting it all together. He’ll have to beat Garcia and Haas to get to Garrigus. He will and he’ll beat Garrigus to win the bracket.

Glass Says: Two Words: Tiger Woods. He backed up his DQ in the desert with a convincing win at Torrey Pines and there isn’t one player in his half of the bracket who is absolutely hot right now. It’s actually the opposite. In the bottom half, look for the battle of the ball-strikers to meet with Westwood knocking off Mahan for the opportunity to take on Woods, and lose, the Player bracket final.

Sam Snead Bracket

Chalk Says: In my opinion, the toughest bracket of the bunch as the No. 14 seed, David Toms, is ranked No. 71 in the Sagarin Golf Week rankings. Luke Donald’s game sets up perfectly for match play as his short game and putting will drive his opponents crazy. World pros Adam Scott, Ian Poluter and a well-rested Steve Stricker make this group wide open.

Glass Says: Beware of the upsets as Scott and Poulter have struggled recently in this event to get things going. Scott hasn’t won more than two matches in EIGHT consecutive Match-Play appearances. Poulter has been knocked out in the first round in his last two tries after winning the title in 2010. Poulter has had six weeks off heading to Arizona as well. Luke Donald will come out of the top half and have to be sharp to knock off young up-and-comer Thorbjorn Olesen to make the final four.

Ned Brown is a long-time contributor for Rotoworld Golf. He’s had documented success in Yahoo!’s game for years. Even if you’re confident in your selections for that game, give his insight a read. Ned also provides us with his GolfChannel.com Fantasy Challenge selections as well!

The Yahoo! game is off this week but Ned’s picks will return next week at The Honda Classic. Here are his splits:

"Pure Spin"

Northern Trust: 178 points

Season: 1,214 points

Overall Rank: 388

Coming TUESDAY

And the analysis doesn't end here. Rotoworld's Rob Bolton and I will be co-hosting a one-hour live chat TUESDAY at NOON ET. PLEASE NOTE THE DAY CHANGE for THIS WEEK ONLY! We will be breaking down the field at the WGC-Accenture Match Play and answering your questions. Simply return to the golf home page to join in on the chatter.